June 3, 2014

A FEW CARBON FACTS

A few facts and opinions regarding the renewed push to sensationalize global warming and implement CO2 limits by the EPA and the Obama administration:

1)The world, on average and based on our best measurements, has warmed 0.7 C since the invention of the internal combustion engine in the late 1800’s. You would have absolutely no way of knowing this, or caring, if you weren't constantly told this was a terrible thing.

2)The world, on average and based on our best measurements, has warmed over 8 C since the last ice age 20,000 years ago. At that time, most of our country and Europe were under a mile thick layer of ice. A warming planet is a good thing. We should rejoice and give thanks that our planet is continuing to warm. Because one day another ice age will begin, and that will be very bad indeed.

3)Based on our best satellite data, the planet has not increased in average temperature in over 17 years. This means that you, mister high school senior, who has listened to global warming teaching in science class every year, has experienced absolutely no measurable warming in your whole life! Think about that for a bit.

4)CO2 is not a pollutant. It is a molecule that along with water and Sun energy forms the plant life on our planet through the chemical reaction of photosynthesis. It creates carbon chains using CO2 and is why all life on planet earth is carbon based. Our mass comes from CO2. Without CO2 in our atmosphere, life as we know it on planet earth dies.

5)Despite how important it is, CO2 barely exists in our atmosphere. It is currently at 0.040%. In the 1950’s when we stared measuring it at Mauna Loa in Hawaii, it was at 0.031%. This increase is most certainly mainly caused by our burning of fossil fuels. Nitrogen is 78.030% and oxygen is 20.990% and argon is 0.940%. There are other trace gases such as hydrogen, neon, helium, krypton and xenon up there as well. Plants are very happy that we have put more CO2 in the air. The earth is currently showing signs of greening by satellites.

6)Anytime you burn something you release CO2. This is the opposite of the photosynthesis reaction. Animals eating, decomposing organic matter, and all forms of fire use oxygen to combine with the carbon chains and release the energy. The CO2 molecule is then released to start the cycle over again. There is no “clean” burning that will not release CO2. It is not a pollutant. It is the only and the cleanest form of combustion. You cannot tell a coal company to reduce their CO2 output unless they reduce their burning of coal. There is not a magic widget you can put on a factory that makes CO2 go away. There are many air pollutants that can be released by the burning of coal such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, mercury, etc. These ARE pollutants and can be removed. But CO2 cannot.

7)Storms, both hurricanes and tornadoes, are NOT getting worse. In fact, we are currently experiencing the longest time between major hurricanes to hit the US. This means we are due for a bad season soon. Not because of CO2, but because that’s what happens naturally.

8)The oceans levels are NOT accelerating. The oceans get deeper as ice melts. This has been happening from the last ice age. Also, land is not solid, it floats on giant tectonic plates and moves around and up and down. As best we can tell, the ocean gets about 7” deeper every 100 years. If you build your house on a sandbar at the coast you will eventually get wet, this has nothing to do with CO2 (Matthew figured this out 2000 years ago, Mt 7:24-27).

9)We are NOT experiencing more drought. Physics demands that warmer temperatures will evaporate more water and hold more humidity in the air resulting in more rainfall. It is extremely hard to measure because the average changes are so tiny compared to the noise, but we think the US has gotten slightly more rain compared to 100 years ago. This is good!

One might ask why you keep hearing that these things are happening, even from the President, while I am telling you they are not. That is a great question to ask! Simply put, one of us is lying (hint, one of us gets huge amounts of new tax money and power, the other doesn't).